CfP: Belgrade Security Forum 2016

CfP: Belgrade Security Forum 2016

Migration, Security and Solidarity within Global Disorder

Co-organized by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, the Belgrade Fund for Political Excellence and the European Movement in Serbia

October 12-14, 2016, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Belgrade, Serbia

Deadline for applications: March 20, 2016!

Open Call

The organizers of the Belgrade Security Forum (BSF) are pleased to invite scholars and researchers to submit paper proposals for the BSF academic event entitled “Migration, Security and Solidarity within Global Disorder”. This year’s academic event will be held on October 12, 2016, with the aim of exploring how theories and theoretical frameworks within various fields in the social sciences and humanities can contribute to the solution of the current migrant and refugee crisis.

In 2015, over a million migrants and refugees reached Europe in what has been estimated to be the worst refugee crisis since the aftermath of the Second World War. This humanitarian emergency – with a pronounced security dimension – marked 2015, and unfortunately it is unlikely to be resolved in 2016. The response of European countries to the wave of mass migration was not harmonized, and existing EU asylum legislation has proved inadequate to deal with a crisis of such magnitude. It is yet to be seen how the EU as a whole will cope with the urgency of the crisis. The xenophobic backlash against immigration in a number of European countries represents a serious challenge to the introduction of policies based on solidarity, and the systems of so called “burden sharing” among EU member states.

Regardless of whether they are fleeing war or severe economic hardship, the mass influx of migrants and refugees – especially in times of harsh austerity measures in Europe – has the potential to increase poverty and marginalization, which would consequently create new security challenges. The current migrant and refugee crisis therefore requires receiving countries to carefully rethink their approaches to combating poverty and tackling inequality.

Drawing on insights from Security Studies, Political Science, European Studies, Legal Studies, Migration Studies, Sociology, Anthropology and other disciplines, this conference will seek to address the following issues:

The implications of the current migrant and refugee crisis for the perception of the EU as a “Normative Power” and a “Community of Values” with high standards of human rights protection;

Conceptual challenges to the Common European Asylum System posed by the current crisis;

Securitization of immigration and the rise of right-wing populism and Islamophobia in the EU;

The migrant and refugee crisis between international, EU and member states’ asylum laws – the legal aspects and implications of the crisis;

Migration, inequality and insecurity – new forms of marginalization; inequality as a security threat;

Immigration and integration – from identity politics to the politics of solidarity;

Problematizing the nexus between migration, radicalization and violent extremism.

Application process

Participants will be selected based on the quality of their application. All submissions are required to include the applicant’s CV (up to 2 pages) attached to his/her paper proposal (up to 300 words). Submissions should be made electronically to [email protected] with the subject line: “Call for paper proposals for BSF 2016”.

The deadline for submissions is March 20, 2016. All successful candidates will be contacted by the end of April 2016.

Incomplete applications will be excluded from our review. The organizers will financially support the travel and accommodation expenses of a limited number of participants on a needs basis. Applicants should clearly state in their application whether they would like to be considered for the accommodation and travel grant.

All accepted papers will be presented during the academic event (October 12, 2016) and, following the conference, the presented papers will be peer-reviewed for publication in the Journal of Regional Security (www.regionalsecurityjournal.com).